Online Fraud Rises To 3.3 Million Cases In The UK, Report Finds

UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report 2025 places last year’s total losses at £1.17 billion. Criminals carried out 3.31 million unauthorised and authorised cases, 12% more than in 2023. Banks’ security checks stopped £1.45 billion, equal to 67 pence in every attempted pound.

Ben Donaldson, head of economic crime at UK Finance, said, “Fraud continues to blight this country, with over £1 billion stolen by criminals in 2024. This causes severe harm to individuals, society and our economy as the stolen money goes to serious organised crime groups, both here and abroad.” The report says 70% of authorised push payment (APP) scams started on websites and social media, while 16% began through phone networks.

Remote purchase card crime climbed after several quiet years, taking total card cases up by 15%.

APP losses, though, slipped 2% to £450.7 million and cases fell 20% to the lowest level since 2020. UK Finance links the fall to recent warning messages inside banking apps and bigger use of real-time data sharing between firms and police.

 

Where Is Unauthorised Card Crime Rising?

 

Remote purchase fraud grew 22% in cases and 11% in cash terms to just under £400 million. 4/5 of these thefts took place at e-commerce sites, with criminals tricking people into handing over one time passcodes that unlock digital wallets.

Lost-and-stolen card spending went up 3%, although the number of incidents went down. Contactless losses went down 1% for the first time since 2020, even as tap-and-go transactions made up 74 % of card use.

CardID theft relaxed after a 2023 spike, dropping 26% in value. Cheques now account for only 1% of unauthorised crime, with banks blocking 87% of illegitimate cheques before cash left customer accounts.

 

Why Did Push Payment Scams Go Down?

 

Mandatory reimbursement rules arrived in October 2024. In the first three months, 86% of in-scope losses were returned, creating more incentives for banks to spot danger earlier. Purchase scams still made up 71% of APP incidents but went down 16% in volume as shoppers moved to safer payment routes.

Investment cons cost victims £144.4 million, a 34% increase despite a quarter fewer cases, as fraud criminals chased bigger transfers, often tied to crypto tokens. Romance scams dropped 17% in cash terms; public warnings and media focus appear to have cut their power.

Impersonation plots in which crooks posed as police or bank staff shrank again as losses slid 16% and case numbers almost halved from the 2021 peak.

 

 

What Should Be Done To Combat Fraud?

 

Cross-sector data fusion: UK Finance urges telecom and tech firms to share threat feeds with banks in real time so fake adverts, cloned profiles and spoof calls are blocked before money is at risk.

Behaviour-based alerts: Banks are adding AI that tracks unusual clicks, pauses and device changes, then issues on screen warnings that prompt £48.5 million worth of abandoned transfers, according to trials in Australia.

Early-school lessons: Free “Don’t Be Fooled” packs, now in 430 schools, teach pupils how mule recruiters work. Financial abuse talks in care homes and translated scam guides for newcomers widen the safety net.

Stricter rules and penalties: UK Finance wants fraud treated as a national security matter, with tougher fines for platforms that fail to close scam adverts and with global police leads chasing syndicates abroad.

Donaldson says, “The financial services industry works tirelessly to protect customers and prevent billions more being stolen by fraudsters, but we know that criminals are always looking for new ways to exploit victims.

“To deal with this threat, we need a more proactive approach with the public and private sectors working more closely together and using data and intelligence more effectively. We also need the technology and telecommunication sectors to step up and actually fight the fraud originating on their platforms and networks.”